Last Gasp was Great!

Another fantastic “Last Gasp of Summer” Open Water Swim went off without a hitch at Angle Lake in Seatac recently. Hard rain fell during the week leading up to the big day (September 23rd), and much handwringing and consternation ensued among certain TWIMmers over whether to compete in the non-wetsuit (brr!) National Championship 1 Mile Sprint race. We won’t mention any names of those complaining about cold water, but his initials are CH!

The water temp (67 near shore) did not stop Jenny Ferries, Ben Hohmann, nor Kathy Pelham from competing in the National Championship swim. Part-time TWIMmer Zena Courtney joined in the fun, too, when she wasn’t too busy helping put on this wonderful annual event with her host team, Blue Wave Aquatics. Kudos to you all who swam the Sprint. Not only were you brave enough to do it sans wetsuit, but you medaled, also!!

Next up were Carl Haynie and Valerie Thompson who competed in the 1 Mile wetsuit race where they each snagged Age Group Championship patches. Way to go! Likewise, Jenny and Zena did the same when they swam for the second time (!) that morning in the 2 Mile Non-wetsuit and 1 Mile Non-wetsuit races, respectively!

Meanwhile, our own Coach Brian Guillen proved instrumental as always in advising and cheering us all on. Thanks, coach!

Kudos to Meet Director Mike Murphy, Safety Officer Jim Davidson, and the dozens of volunteers who made the day run so smoothly. World Record holders Charlotte Davis and Rick Colella were even on hand signing autographs.

Here below are the smashing results. Congratulations, all!!

Courtney, Zena

• OW Sprint Championship: 1^st in 55-59 AG: 23:59.0 – NATIONAL CHAMPION patch and the gold medal
• 1 mile non-wetsuit: 1st overall out of 13 and 1st in 55-59: 24:34.0 – AG Champion patch

Ferries, Jenny

• OW Sprint Championship: 1^st in 35-39 AG: 24:29.0 – NATIONAL CHAMPION patch and the gold medal
• 2 mile non-wetsuit: 1st in 35-39 AG: 50:55.0 – AG Champion patch

Haynie, Carl

• 1 mile wetsuit: 1st in 55-59 AG: 22:49.0 – AG Champion patch

Hohmann, Ben

• OW Sprint Championship: 3rd in 35-39 AG: 25:33.0 and the bronze medal

Pelham, Kathy

• OW Sprint Championship: 2nd in 40-44 AG: 25:12.0 and the silver medal

Thompson, Valerie

• 1 mile wetsuit: 1st in 65-69 AG: 40:58.0 – AG Champion patch